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Trinity professor Ileana Rivera Liberatore discussing her father's work and legacy.

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In Mexican-American (MA) Film and Literature class at Stevens High School, students explore MA identity and culture through short stories, poems, art, and movies created by MA artists. Through a variety of texts and activities, and in a safe judgement-free environment, students learn to see how the captivating texts serve as springboards for complex and engaging discussions regarding topics such as immigration, race and ethnicity, family, education, religion, memory, gender, and power.

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Art Exhibit at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center

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Classic Theatre Production of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima

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UTSA professor Marco Cervantes discussing the role of music in MA identity.

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SA Express News

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As a young girl, Kimberley Rendon didn't know what check box identified her. Hispanic or Latina? She didn't know the difference.

The more she heard different terms - Tejano, Chicana - the more she felt on the verge of an identity crisis.

But on Thursday, her last day of classes as a Stevens High School junior, Rendon was confident about it, having completed Andres Lopez's Mexican-American literature course.

"I'm Latina," she said. The term encompasses her Central American and Spanish roots, Rendon explained.

She learned more than terminology, writing styles or history in the class, the only high school course in Mexican-American literature in San Antonio and one of very few in the state. She learned about herself.

Mexican-American studies is more often taught as social science in Texas public schools - but still rarely. As the State Board of Education readies standards that will enable any high school to teach it starting in the 2019-20 school year, several school districts in Bexar County haven't waited, authorizing what have turned out to be popular course offerings at the behest of individual teachers or preparing versions of it for next school year.

They are being helped by professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio's Mexican American Studies program, who along with other academics have also been active in the politics of it, pressuring the state board for such a course for the past five years. They now are gearing up for a rally and public comment session before the board Tuesday in Austin, where a battle is brewing over what to call it.

In April, the Republican-majority board approved development of a social studies course and state standards for it but renamed it "Ethnic Studies: An Overview of Americans of Mexican Descent," much to the disapproval of advocates and academics who have always known their field as Mexican-American studies.

UTSA's weeklong summer institute for K-12 teachers, called Mexican American Studies Social Studies and Literature Teachers' Academy, coaches teachers who are integrating Mexican-American studies in their schools.

In most cases, it was passionate teachers such as Lopez, preparing for his third year teaching the literature class, who spearheaded the idea. KIPP San Antonio Public Schools, a charter school network, has offered a film course in the topic at its middle school for three years and as a dual credit fine arts course at its university preparatory high school for four years. And last year, Harlandale Independent School District introduced Mexican-American studies as a social studies elective at two high schools.

The San Antonio and South San Antonio ISDs recently approved developing a social studies course to offer this fall. Edgewood ISD has authorized offering it in 2019.

"I don't need someone to make it happen, I just need support to make it happen," Lopez recalled saying when he interviewed in 2015 for a job as an English teacher at Stevens, in Northside ISD, and told administrators he wanted to teach the work of Mexican-American authors.

Once he had their blessing, Lopez took steps to fortify the class against any pushback he might face outside the district. He had followed a controversy in Arizona over its public school Mexican-American studies program, the teaching of which state lawmakers decided to outlaw in 2010. A federal judge last year found the ban racist and said it violated students' constitutional rights.

"Administrators who are trying to start it here are very aware of what happened there," said Lopez, who remembers thinking, "I need to do everything that I can to protect this class."

He said he insisted that the English department at Stevens poll students on what kinds of elective classes they'd like to choose from, to demonstrate that students wanted the topic. It was a top class on the poll results, he said, and enrollment has grown from 15 students the first semester to 54 in the coming fall. He also sought community donations for the course materials. Because it was his own creation, books weren't readily available, as they were for core classes. Lopez continues to get contributions through an online fundraiser.

"I want to make sure it's something people all over the school, community and city are aware of and want to be part of," Lopez said.

In other districts, teachers and officials saw implementing such a course, usually as social science, as a natural fit to serve their majority Hispanic student populations.

For the past five years, Gilbert Flores has taught U.S. history at Brackenridge High School, where 95 percent of the students are Hispanic. But Flores said only a little of the 11th-grade class, which culminates in a state standardized test that students must pass to graduate, focuses on the Mexican-American experience.

High school U.S. history begins in the year 1877 - the earlier years are covered in the eighth grade. After Flores' students learn about Hector Garcia, César Chávez and the 1940s zoot suit riots, they are left wanting more, he said.

"I could thread in the Mexican-American experience, but it's really difficult considering all the other topics that we have to discover," Flores said. "They want to know about their ancestral history and their identity, and certainly Mexican-Americans had a significant political, economic and social impact on the shaping of this country. So they just want to know that angle - how did we contribute to the story?"

Earlier this spring, when Flores learned that Houston ISD was offering a high school Mexican-American studies class, he immediately asked a Brackenridge assistant principal if he could teach the same course in the SAISD school.

"It's always been kind of like a dream for me," he said.

After SAISD trustees approved it three weeks ago, Flores signed up about 50 of his students to take it as a social studies elective when they are seniors next school year.

When Flores was taught in SAISD schools - he graduated in 2000 from Jefferson High School - he felt that his social studies teachers were doing their best. But he attributes his passion for his subject to Texas State University courses that focused on Mexican-American and Latin American history. They gave him new and different angles from which to consider the past, he said.

Flores hopes the high school Mexican-American studies course will inspire his students to pass on stories of their community's contributions to society - starting with indigenous Mexicans, whom, Flores said, history sometimes glosses over until they are conquered by the Spanish. His course will include the Toltecs, Aztecs and Mayans, with their accomplishments in physics, astronomy and architecture. The course will discuss the effect of European colonization and focus on modern history, with deeper dives into the Chicano movement and Mexican-American contributions during both world wars, Flores said.

Few educators interviewed for this story feared political backlash. Lucero Saldaña, the English-language learners coordinator at KIPP Camino Academy, expected only some pushback at the state level.

"I kind of knew we would have tensions, but not so much as we've had with the (state) board," she said.

Some of Saldaña's middle school students testified before the board at April's hearing.

A few teachers, such as Flores, have adopted course materials from Houston ISD's "innovative course," a pathway available when school districts want to offer instruction outside the established state curriculum. Those courses could change slightly after the state board finalizes the state standards.

Others local educators, such as at South San Antonio High School, are creating their own.

"We're kind of piloting at this point and will go from there," Principal Lee Hernandez said.

Several said they'll continue teaching their courses until the state tells them otherwise.

"As long as they don't change the meaning of it, we're going to stay the course," said Rubina Pantoja, Harlandale's social studies coordinator.

krista.torralva@express-news.net

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Some area schools already plunging into Mexican-American studies

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As a young girl, Kimberley Rendon didn't know what check box identified her. Hispanic or Latina? She didn't know the difference. The more she heard different terms - Tejano, Chicana - the more she felt on the verge of an identity crisis.

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Mexican American Literature Book Drive | DonorsChoose.org project by Mr. Lopez

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My students need copies of the Mexican American Literature Anthology that they can keep to read again and again and to share with loved ones. My students are enrolled in a rare elective in Texas public schools: Mexican-American Literature. Together, we explore identity and culture through short stories, poems, art, and movies created by...

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Mexican-American Literature Commercial  2018

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Ad for a high school class at Stevens High School in San Antonio, Texas

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Texas Public Radio recently did a story on our Mexican-American Literature class (listen below) and hearing the story warmed my heart tremendously. My favorite part of the story is hearing Luis talk about college. When I first met him, he informed me that he didn’t like poetry and that he didn’t plan to do anything after graduating HS besides learning a technical skill.

This was the gist of our first exchange:

“Just to let you know mister, I don’t really like or get poems.”

“Well,” I said, “I have had students tell me that before. And I find it rarely to be true for anyone forever. How about I read the poem and you tell me what you feel? Let’s start there.”

He reluctantly opened his book to Lorna Dee Cervantes’s “A Chicano Poem.”* After we finished the poem, he said, “I like that poem.”

I asked him why and he said, “I don’t know...I like the power of the words, I guess.”

To which I replied, “So I guess you might like poetry after all.”

Over the course of this semester, he has slowly turned into one of my most passionate students and has gone on a campaign to recruit as many students as he can to take the course in the future.  Now, just four months later, he is interested is going to college and possibly even taking Mexican American Studies classes! To hear that, well...it makes me proud and fuels my teaching, but it also reminds me that more students like him deserve and need the opportunity to experience art that recognizes the dignity of their stories and their families stories. If you have a minute, click on the link below and LISTEN to the interview. The students' stories and voices are raw, beautiful, and honest. I hear them everyday loud and clear. I’m a lucky teacher!

Listen here: http://tpr.org/post/mexican-american-literature-course-aims-connect-students-culture

* Recently, the students chose a quote from Cervantes’s poem for the back of our shirts.

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with a link to Instructor Resources

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Mexican American Literature (9781319021085) | Macmillan Learning

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Find out more about Mexican American Literature, First Edition by Dagoberto Gilb (9781319021085, 1319021085) at Macmillan Learning

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Texas Public Radio

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Texas Public Radio has been following the path of Mexican-American studies in Texas public schools.

Last week we visited a San Antonio high school that's implementing a Mexican-American course as an elective.

Andres Lopez has been teaching Mexican-American Literature at Stevens High School for two years. He didn't face much of an obstacle convincing his district supervisors that the course would be a good fit at the high school. But he faced a challenge from another front.

"It was a matter of trying to convince students, parents, teachers what that is," Lopez said. "A lot of them, when I say 'Mexican-American,' they say 'I don't know Spanish.' Or they start mentioning authors (who) are from totally different countries.' "

Lopez doesn't go into the classroom with a fixed lesson plan. He lets the students shape their own studies by also incorporating their backgrounds and experiences.

"The students and I, we create - as a group - what is this class; what does it do for us; why does it matter; and with their voice, and a little bit of guidance from me, we've come up with some pretty compelling things," Lopez said. "And slowly, word's getting out."

RELATED | Examining Mexican-American Studies, 'A History That Was Denied'

Lopez has no shortage of champions for his class. Other than learning about Chicano literature, art, and film, the students found themselves connecting to their culture. Sylvia Garcia, a senior, said she thought the course was going to be like a normal English class but "mixed with a Mexican-American thing. As time went on, it was like everyone's story that could relate was put into play with what we were learning. It was very easy to express my family's background and how I am and (how I relate to) other people in my classes."

Melissa Reyna, a senior, made an even more personal connection. She said the material she read in class made her feel closer to her grandparents and relate to the immigrant experience.

"I feel like I learned ... how hard it can be, and how you just really want to support your family," Reyna said. "My grandfather dropped out of school in the fifth grade to work in a factory to support all of his siblings. It just made me almost want to tear up reading some of the stories - like, 'wow, this is really what it was like for him.' "

Even students who don't have direct Mexican-American lineage appreciate the class. Jarin Hudspeth, a senior who is of Domenican and African-American descent, said the flexibility of Lopez's class allowed her to not only learn more about Mexican-American culture, but also about her own biracial background.

RELATED | Advocate For Mexican-American Studies In Texas Schools: 'You Can't Ban What You Don't Have'

"I learned about so much stuff that defined me and the people around me," she said.

The Mexican-American literature class is only offered in the fall semester and is wrapped up in the second week of January. The abbreviated lifespan of the course is leaving some students craving more.

"After this, I'm trying to go into this again (in college) because it really sucks that this class is only one semester," said Luis Silva, a junior. "We're really missing out on more knowledge that they're giving us."

Lopez said this enthusiasm will extend beyond his classroom and the local colleges that support the program.

"There's already talk of offering Mexican-American literature dual credit in the district as (part of) our partnership with Northwest Vista (College), and that is a big part of why that's possible, because they've seen success with high school students," he said. "It's no longer just an idea. It's happening."
Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1

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Mexican-American Literature Course Aims To Connect Students With Culture

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Texas Public Radio has been following the path of Mexican-American studies in Texas public schools. Last week we visited a San Antonio high school that's implementing a Mexican-American course as an elective. Andres Lopez has been teaching Mexican-American Literature at Stevens High School for two years.

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Chris, one of my students, solemnly relayed that his last day at school was Wednesday. During Thanksgiving break he was moving back to Colorado in order to graduate on time. I asked him: “Since Wednesday is your last day, tell us what we can do to send you off.” I was expecting him to say what most students say. “How about a party?” or “Can we watch a movie?”

Instead, he said, “Honestly Mister, I want us to read one more thing from the anthology before I go. I don’t think I’m going to get to read much of that kind of thing when I leave.”

I told him I loved the idea and said, as a parting gift, I’d gift him a copy of the anthology to take with him to Colorado. Holding back tears, he asked, “Seriously, Mister?!” After I said yes, he began to cry. Neither my students nor I expected this reaction and for a moment we looked at each other as Chris bowed his head at his desk and silently cried. Then one of my students Luis stood up and said, “It’s okay to cry Chris. I want to cry too.” Luis walked over to Chris to hug him and insisted that we all go in for a group hug. When the group hug ended, Chris raised his head, smiling. I was emotionally overwhelmed. Luckily, the bell rang and I had a few minutes to compose myself for the next class.

In was because of reactions like that, I used crowdsourcing to buy copies for each student to keep. Some students from last year have said they read every single story and poem in the book that we didn't read in class. Others have taken the book home to share with thier younger siblings. One student took the book home and started to read the stories with her grandpa. She said it helped to connect them in a way that they never had before.  I hope it is jsut the first book of many in their lives.

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Since we are halfway through the semester, I asked the students to present (through words or images) a working definition of Mexican-American Literature and make a case for why it matters. A few students asked if they could keep adding to their projects even after I had graded them, essentially asking my permission to do more work than I had assigned without regard for whether they would receive extra credit or a higher grade. They were intrinsically motivated to keep digging, writing, and sharing.

My favorite moment this time around came when a timid girl who rarely speaks in class offered to read what she wrote for the assignment. She said, “I’m not sure what this is. It’s not really a poem or an essay, but it captures what I’m feeling and I think it is best if it is read aloud.” The other students and I waited eagerly and patiently as she gathered her courage. This is what she read:

"Mexican-American Film and Literature is an unsung, and unknown form of art that is hardly taught and hardly learned. It is tragic, it is beautiful, it is family, it is religion, it is love, blood, sweat, tears, doubts and death. It is what makes everyone human. MAL has taught me that no matter what you look like, who you love, who you see yourself as or as others see you or where you come from, MAL applies to their lives even in the smallest of ways. This history, mindset, thought process is sad, but true, mad, but real and we can’t do anything about it. It is history after all. But I’ve noticed that these arts, these beauties that have no effect on the past, have a big impact on the future and those who walk through it. It takes one young mind that knows nothing about this past to pick up a book and figure out that we aren’t out of the mud just yet. So, we work together to get back up on our hands and knees and grab others hands to pull us to our feet and to limp, struggle, but survive and see a future where we aren’t hidden behind a wall or lost in the fields or shot in an alley or locked behind bars. We are here, we are human and we won’t stay silent. We have our inspirations, our muses, our unsung heroes. Unknown, unnoticeable. And thanks to this class, we learned."

As soon as she finished, the students started clapping. One boy said, “That was awesome. You captured what I feel better than I ever could.” She smiled shyly, betraying the pride she had for her work.

I find the days they are sharing their projects to be some of the most rewarding of the year. The students know intuitively more than we realize, and I learn as much from them as they do from me. I hope more and more teachers and students are given opportunities to study literature that is both familiar and new--that simultaneously challenges their understanding of their culture and empowers them to see new paths for themselves, their families, and their communities. Thanks to such classes, “we learn.”

Kimberly recently recited her piece for our newest recruitment ad. Watch here:
https://youtu.be/Gb_K5tEzX68

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On the second day of class, I placed some of the books we will use this year on a table in the back of the room. I asked each student to grab one that caught his/her eye and to spend a few minutes flipping through it and to prepare to share with the rest of the class why they picked it, what it looks to be about, and how we might use it in our class. They took turns sharing and asking me and each other questions about the texts and about the course.

At the end of class, a young girl who I’ve only known for one day asked, “Is this your book or the library’s book?”

“It’s mine,” I said, “Why?”

She looked up into my eyes and then looked back at the book and said, “Oh...okay...nevermind.”

“What? Go ahead and tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Well, I was hoping it was a library book so that I could check it out and take it home. I want to use it to make an inspirational poster.”

I lit up, “Please, borrow it. These books are ours to share.”

“Really?” She looked up at my walls and asked, “If I made a poster, would you hang it up in the class?”

“Or course! Please! I would love that!”

She smiled, grabbed the oversized book, hugged it close to her body and left. I stood there for a few minutes drinking in my favorite moment of that day and then got back to work.

It was this book:

This student barely knows me. She didn’t ask for extra credit. In just 15 minutes, something she saw in that book so moved her that she wanted to create something new to share. That’s the power of a class like this.  Last year, my first time teaching this course, I saw students, some of them extremely shy or even seemingly checked out from school, come alive when the right poem, short story, or piece of art activated something within them. It’s the same thing that happened to me when I first encountered Chicana/o literature at UT. I feel extremely blessed to be a part of it--to be in the room when it happens--and, in a Mexican-American studies class, it happens a lot.

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UTSA Professor Liliana Saldaña talking about Gloria Anzaldua.

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The power of literature--donated novels for each student to keep at the end of the semester.

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Designed by the students

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Centro de Artes art exhibit: "Icons and Symbols of the Borderland"

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Life growing up as migrant farmworkers

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Anel Flores

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Indigenous customs/beliefs

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Their Stories/Knowledge